On Tuesday, the voters of Greenwich exercised their privilege to vote.

I am thankful for their overwhelming vote of confidence to continue to serve as their first selectman. The choices in this election could not have been more clear. My vision continues to be that Greenwich remain a premier residential community that retains and attracts people that want to live, work and raise their families. We have ensured this vision by making sure our neighborhoods are safe, we continue investment in our schools and public infrastructure and keep our taxes at modest and predictable levels.

Our opponents find fault with this vision and offered to issue larger amounts of debt for longer periods of time as if this is an impediment to securing the vision I have outlined. The reality is we are addressing matters at Binney Park Pond, Byram Park and the Eastern Greenwich Civic Center along with a host of other necessary projects that support our enviable quality of life. In addition the opposition chose to criticize volunteer service and make personal attacks with misrepresentation on issues.

Our opponents said "vote smart" and thankfully our fellow residents did, with 73 percent of the voters for a second time affirming support for our vision and granting me and our Republican team a mandate to govern.

My fellow citizens, I remain humbled by your support and pledge to continue to put the interests of Greenwich first.

On Tuesday, we voted for members of our Board of Education. One of the issues is the Common Core curriculum. We must understand the reason for the Common Core curriculum and tests as they hold the key for the future of education in the United States.

A new test, Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), was developed by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), to measure skills that people need to thrive in the modern world. More than 300,000 teenagers in 43 countries took the test and the results have startled much of the developed world. The United States ranked 24th out of 34 countries in mathematics and 11th in reading. Finland was No. 1, but Norway with similar demographics as Finland was way down the list. PISA revealed which countries were enhancing students' abilities to think creatively and critically.

The new Common Core standards are modeled after the best practices of the world's educational superpowers and are designed specifically to address why we are falling behind. We need to change how we teach and test to compete in a globalized world. No more multiple choice tests. Only one candidate running for the Board of Education seemed to grasp the significance of the Common Core. This is disturbing.